Planning an Epic Summer Road Trip

Hello friends! My family and I love to take road trips in the summer, and this year is shaping up to be the best one yet. Not only is it the four of us, it's also my cousin and her parents - when all of us are together, it's like being in a bad comedy, and it makes for hilarious stories. I'll write up a post at the end of the summer sharing our experiences, but for now, here's everything we're planning for our epic road trip, complete with tips, fun ideas, and more.

1. Pick a New Destination When we started talking about where we are going to go, we all
    decided that a new place is always more fun. The powers that be (the parents) gave us
    a set radius to travel in, and they pretty much let my cousin, my brother, and me pick
    the destination. We settled on a mountain town in the Rocky Mountains. None of us
    have ever been there, and there are a surprising number of things to do there, making
    sure there's something for everyone.
2. Have a Trip Theme This is probably the lamest thing anyone could ever do, but having a
    theme for your trip makes it so much more fun. We have a theme song (John Denver's
    amazingly ironic "Rocky Mountain High," also the official name of the trip), code names
    (all bean-based, i.e. Jelly Bean, Frijole, Bean Sprout, etc., and particularly fun if the
    theme for the names has absolutely nothing to do with the trip), trip hats (custom with
    a logo and our code names), and playlists to fit the theme.
3. Rent a House, Not a Hotel Room With seven adult-size people, renting a few hotel
    rooms costs as much, if not more, than renting a whole house, especially if it's split
    between a few families. Our house has plenty of room for everyone, multiple
    bathrooms, and a full kitchen, which means we can do some grocery shopping when we
    arrive and save a whole lot on food expenses because we'll be eating at the house more
    than eating out.
4. Plan Activities for Everyone Where we are staying, obviously the main attraction is
    the mountains, with lots of trails and activities, but there are also hot springs, gondola
    tours, golf courses, an amusement park, little shops, and nearby ski resorts to scope
    out during the off-season. With a little of everything, you ensure everyone leaves
    happy.
5. Don't Spend All Your Energy During the Day Some of my favorite vacation memories
    aren't even of the actual trip and the things I saw, but of the time my family spent
    together at the end of the day. We absolutely love board games and card games, and
    the seven of us always manage to make it so by the end, nobody is playing and
    everyone is in tears laughing. It's especially fun if you bring new games, because
    nobody reads directions and it just adds another level of hilarity. These nights are
    also the perfect occasions to sit around a fire with a whole bunch of s'mores and
    hot dogs, which just scream summer and make for great memories.
6. Leave Wiggle Room The great thing about going somewhere that doesn't need tickets
    like an amusement park is that you can go without a detailed itinerary and decide what
    you want to do as the days come.

I wish you all the best and safe, fun travels,
Erin

My Thanksgiving Traditions & Giving Thanks

Hello friends! This week is Thanksgiving so I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on the things I'm most thankful for and tell you how my family celebrates this wonderful holiday.

Thanksgiving is big in my family - everyone comes over, there's enough food to feed an army, so on and so forth. It all starts about 5am in my house, with my mom cooking away, and I join her shortly after. We watch the Macy's parade as we cook, and before long, people are at our door. Then the fun ensues: lots of laughing, food on food on food, and the annual Wii Bowling Tournament. Really it's just about being together, and I love more than anything. It will always mean so much to me.

I had seen on Pinterest a "52 Things I'm Grateful For" tag-type thing that I assume is for Instagram, but the point is to post a picture to fit each week's category for a year. I'll never remember to do that for a year, so I figured I'd share them all here at once and throw in a few pictures where they fit:

1. Why start this challenge? Because it's Thanksgiving, thank you very much.
2. Spouse/significant other I don't have one; I'm enjoying being me, for me.
3. Family I don't want to show them because they may not want to be on the Internet but
    trust me, they're the best bunch of weirdos I've ever met.
4. A family member My mom is an angel. I love her to pieces.
5. Something someone gave you When I was little my grandma gave me a giant teddy bear
    before she passed away. It still sits on my bedroom floor.
6. The city you live in For privacy I will not be divulging that one, but again, it's the best
    in my humble opinion.
7. A friend My cousin is three years younger than me and she is my other half. No one has
    seen me like she has and I love her.
8. Express gratitude to 3 people Thank you to my junior year English teacher for
    teaching me how to write a kick-butt paper, my best friends for always giving me a
    bright side to see, and of course my family, to whom I owe everything.
9. How did you do and feel? I'm guessing this is in reference to #8, but these people all
    know and have know for a long time, so it was reaffirming to the universe what
    already exists.
10. List 5 things you like about you I like my eyes, my strength, my mom-like nature, my
      passion and drive, and my baking skills.
11. Someone who inspires you Once again, my mom. She's Super Woman if there ever was
      one, and I can only hope to be like her some day.
12. Your favorite personality trait In myself, my quick wit. In others, compassion.
13. A challenge you've overcome College. Sort of. We're getting there. *shameless plug
      for my college post*



14. A talent you have I'm uber crafty, so I can make just about anything.
15. Things you like about spring I like the rainy days, Easter, and that feeling that
      something good is about to happen that's in the air all season long.
16. Simple things in life Photo albums, warm blankets and candles on cold nights,
      watching recorded TV shows with my family... I could go on and on.
17. Something you take for granted I try not to take anything for granted, but I know I
      take my family for granted more than I should.
18. The weather It's chilly and supposed to rain tonight.
19. Health I got some stitches out last week, so other than that I'm pretty good.
20. Another friend My best friend from high school. Yet another person I love to pieces.
21. Things you like about summer I like the Fourth of July, all the family birthdays, and
      the anticipation for school in August.
22. Something you use every day The easiest thing to say is my phone. Especially because
      I'm still not home (though I'm counting down the days) it's my lifeline to the people I
      love while I'm away.
23. Favorite physical trait Eyes. They say a lot more than the mouth ever could.
24. A book you learned from  The Magic Tree House series. Every story took place in a
      different time period or setting.
25. Education College freshman
26. Someone you got to meet I met two Broadway stars two summers ago with my a
      cappella choir. We were singing for a PR event and they were there, of course.
27. Favorite spot in your city There are so many, but I love little coffee shops (or 
      Starbucks) that are tucked away from the business right outside.



28. Your past I was a very happy kid, but didn't have any friends until high school, so most
      of my childhood was spent with my family, and I'm not complaining. High school was a
      blast, and college kind of sucks so far, but I'm working on it. I give life a thumbs up.
29. Your favorite memory There are too many to pick just one, but my trip to Ireland
      came to mind pretty quickly.



30. Your current age 19
31. Core value Honesty. If you can be honest, everything else flows from that.
32. A city you've visited New Buffalo, Michigan



33. Something you look forward to I always look forward to the holiday season in general,
      but my family is going to Florida before Christmas and I'm beyond excited.
34. Things you like about fall My birthday borders on summer and fall, and then there's
      Halloween, Thanksgiving, cozy sweaters, boots...
35. Your neighborhood Changing, but still feels like home.
36. Your home My best memories are in those walls, and everything about it is perfect in
      my eyes.
37. Something you created Recently I've been into arm knitting, so I've been making a lot
      of scarves.
38. Music you love I love Christmas music (I'm listening to it as I write this), a cappella
      music, some pop songs, and showtunes.
39. Your heritage I'm all kinds of European (Polish, Irish, Welsh, pretty much everything).
40. Greatest accomplishment High school was full of accomplishments I'm proud of, but I
      received an award that was essentially the "right-hand man" award of our fine arts
      department, which meant a lot.
41. Hobbies Singing, baking, crafting, etc. I'm basically a Disney house wife.
42. Your favorite possession This one's hard. I have photos everywhere and I love them,
      and I also have a necklace and ring make of the rose petals from each of my
      grandmothers' funerals. It's like I always have them with me.
43. A mentor/teacher Are you sick of hearing about my mom yet? Because it's her. Again.
44. Your favorite holiday I love the simplicity of Thanksgiving - no focus on the presents of
      Christmas, but I adore Christmas as much as Buddy the Elf, if not more.
45. What you do for fun Well I'm a grandma in a young adult's body, so I bake, knit, meet
      friends at old-timey soda fountains, etc.
46. Technology I'm not sure what this means, so I guess I'll say what I like about it. I like
      how it has the power to connect people who wouldn't have a way to connect
      otherwise.
47. Opportunities you've been given There are so many and I'm grateful for all of them.
      My a cappella group sang everywhere - Ireland, the local news and radio, a
      Broadway PR event... Just to name a few.
48. Your job I was just hired at a local bakery.
49. Things you like about winter I'm one of those odd beings who loves winter. I love the
      snow, festive Starbucks drinks, and feeling warm and fuzzy all season long. And
      Christmas. I love Christmas.







50. Lessons learned this year You are in charge of your own life and nobody can control
      that, and the people who are meant to be in your life will stay in it despite changes
      that may come.
51. 100 Things to be thankful for Oh goodness. We have to be close with the first 50.
52. Did that challenge change you? I don't know if it changed me, but it definitely gave me
      the chance to reflect on the things that I often overlook.

I wish you all the best,
Erin

PS: If you made it to the end of that, you're the real champ and I'm thankful for you, too.